Minooka putting new pieces in place

Minooka girls basketball coach Ray Liberatore knew it wouldn’t be easy replacing Stephanie Furr for the 2011-12 season.

It’s not any easier with Ashley Clemmons’ knee in a brace.

Liberatore and the Indians entered play Tuesday at the Morris Shootout missing “90 percent of our offense from last year,” according to Liberatore. Despite the losses from graduation and injuries, and with the emergence of Sara Placher, expectations in Minooka remain high.

“The last five years we’ve been really strong,” Liberatore said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work in the summers and expectations have gotten higher.”

Minooka opened the Shootout with a 41-18 loss at the hands of Romeoville. It’s a summer that won’t be without a few bumps in the road.

“As you can see today, we obviously have a lot of work to do with this group,” Liberatore said. “Losing Ashley at the beginning of the summer hurts and we graduated three starters, including Stephanie Furr. We can’t have girls trying to do too much.

Replacing Furr is easier said than done, but Liberatore isn’t worried about finding someone to step up.

“You can’t replace a Stephanie Furr,” he said. “Ashley Clemmons will definitely be a consistent scorer inside for us, as she has been the last two years. We know she can’t be a one-man machine when she gets back, so we just need our other girls to step up and do what I know they are capable of doing.”

That’s where Placher comes in.

“Sara Placher is definitely going to step into a scoring role this year,” Liberatore said. “Most games this summer she has been a consistent scorer for us. She’s very capable of scoring and is a great shooter. She’s a senior. She knows she doesn’t have to be anyone but Sara Placher and she’ll be able to play well for us.”

Placher believes she and Clemmons are ready to take the torch.

“I’m trying to be more vocal this year because last year I think we were a little too dependant on Stephanie,” Placher said. “I enjoy having a bigger role, but there are tough times like today when we couldn’t score where it was frustrating. But it’s something we can learn from and get better at.”

“There’s some pressure, but I know me and Ashley aren’t going to let it get to us. We’re just going to play our game, and when she gets back it will make everyone better.”

Liberatore’s focus this summer is instilling the culture on and off the court to his new players, as well as getting smarter on the court. Note-taking is one method he’s used on his team in order for them to learn the game.

Winning four of the last five conference titles might make a summer tournament loss to a conference rival an afterthought, but don’t tell that to Placher or Liberatore.

“We lost to them by three last time we played them, and we came out flat today,” Placher said. “We need to talk more and stay positive throughout the game no matter what is happening.”

“I told our team today that we can’t let our offense affect our defense,” Liberatore said. “They need to pick each other up. They’re a quiet group, but on the court they need to be more aggressive and not let one bad stretch of plays lead to another bad stretch. Things we’re doing during the summer matter otherwise we wouldn’t be doing them.”

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